Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek has announced that Queensland will have 26 independent state schools next year.

Mr Langbroek says the schools will be free to hire staff directly and make other decisions independently.

The State Government says the schools will have greater control and the scheme will cut red tape and remove layers of management.

They include schools from the Torres Strait south to the Gold Coast and west to Miles.

Mr Langbroek says 30 schools applied to be included in the program that starts next year.

"They had to tell us why they were deserving of becoming independent public schools because of the particular programs that they want to initiate in their schools," he said.

"Based on examples we have seen in other countries, other schools, and in Western Australia, where it has been done for the last four years, we are trying to lift all of our standards."

Mr Langbroek says the program will extend to 120 state schools over the next four years.

Smithfield State High School in Cairns in far north Queensland and Tagai State College in the Torres Strait are among the first in the state to become independent public schools.

Three of the schools will be on the Gold Coast.

Mr Langbroek says Palm Beach-Currumbin and Southport State High School, as well as the Tallebudgera Outdoor Education School will have more autonomy from next year.

He says the Federal Government has recognised the value of the program.

"While we are doing 26 schools here in our first year, [Federal School Education Minister] Peter Garrett has given us the funding for 133 of our state schools to have a very similar program," he said.

"[Prime Minister] Julia Gillard who has often proclaimed that her great interest is education has backed us by giving us the funding for another 133 schools to do this."

Union criticism

However, the Queensland Teachers Union (QTU) has criticised the State Government's move to make a number of state schools independent.

QTU spokesman Kevin Bates says there has too much uncertainty with the new system.

"This Government is very much about ideology and not about education," he said.

"From our perspective, their Independent Public School Scheme is about having a shot at the union that represents 44,000 teachers across Queensland.

"It's not necessarily about promoting a better schooling system."

Mr Bates says the Government has not provided enough details about the changes.

"It's not about any direct benefit to teachers," he said.

"The reality here is that if you look at it in its purest form, the Independent Public Schools [scheme] is meant to be about making it better for students in terms of providing opportunities that the Government alleges are not available under the current model.

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